This invention pertains to mechanism for assembling different forms of electrical components with their bodies and leads accurately oriented in side by side relation to facilitate their subsequent feeding and connection by automatic mechanism into printed circuits or the like.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,669,309 issued June 13, 1972 in the name of Vincent Romeo, for instance, there is disclosed a machine for taping in pre-programmed sequence a plurality of electrical components which have been released from their respective dispensers. Another machine of this general sequencing type is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,421,284 issued Jan. 14, 1969. These patented sequencing machines deliver coaxial leads of components having similar shaped bodies via a conveyor to mechanism for applying tapes whereby the successive (generally cylindrical) components can subsequently be fed in the desired order to appropriate automatic mechanism for inserting and electrically connecting their leads in printed circuits. There is, however, a practical limitation to the usefulness of such sequencing apparatus: they are not, so far as known, capable of dealing with any stand-off components or components the body shapes of which differ significantly from cylindrical, at least not without non-uniformly spacing and disorienting the successive components. Non-uniformly spaced components cannot be fed to the lead cutting, forming and inserting instrumentalities of automatic component mounting machines in a manner to achieve electrical connections with the very high degree of reliability required in the industry. Moreover, unless component bodies, especially those having stand-off lead portions, are properly inclined with respect to feed tape or the like interconnecting them and trail their respective leads, the mounting machines cannot effect lead formation and insertion without danger of damaging the components and/or the boards.
One illustrative type of common component having a configuration different from cylindrical and which it is particularly advantageous to be able to include in a mixed or programmed sequence of diverse taped components is the "disc cap". It generally has a disc-like body ranging in the order of from about 3/16 inch to about 3/4 inch in diameter in one general plane and may be flatly elliptical in cross section. Its two leads usually extend in spaced parallel relation from one edge of the body; the lead portions remote from the body may be coaxial as is usually but by no means necessarily the case with cylindrical body components. In general it is preferred to maintain lead portions adjacent to the disc bodies substantially parallel in order to provide for "stand-off", i.e. enable shoulder portions of the leads to support their component body spaced from the circuit board to which they ultimately are to be mounted. In order to dispose sequenced disc caps and other shaped component bodies, cylindrical and otherwise, in a compact storage and feeding formation, for instance wound reels, usable thereafter in automatic inserting machines necessitates inclusion of orienting mechanism in the sequencing apparatus, for instance as hereinafter disclosed.